Chapter 66 “Laura, Mr. Leopold is a busy man, he probably has some social obligations tonight, he'll be leaving soon.” Leopold shot her a wry glance, “At this hour? What kind of social Chapter 65 Aurelia sent a cheerful emoji, [How about | cook for you this weekend? I'm staying at my cousin's place so it's not very convenient. Can | buy the ingredients and cook at your place?] Arnold replied with a smiling emoji, [Sounds good.] Then, he sent her some pictures he took of her from their trip to Provence.
He seemed to have a knack for capturing every perfect moment. In his lens, she was always stunning.
After lunch, Aurelia called a meeting with her colleagues to assign tasks.
The Design Department was divided into seven product design groups, each led by a senior designer and staffed with several designers and assistant designers.
Only four people were willing to follow Aurelia.
In other people's eyes, Evelyn was the obvious choice for director. They saw Aurelia as cannon fodder, doomed to fail.
No one was foolish enough to risk their career.
“This time, I'll take care of the diamond wedding series. The rest of ornaments and jewelry will be handled by Jenny and Darcy, home gifts will go to Lily, and watches and men’s items will be Gary’s responsibility. We're understaffed and have a heavy workload. Let's give it our all.” “Alright.” The four of them were both excited and nervous. This was the first time they were leading a project.
Aurelia naturally wanted to encourage them. “You've all been with the company for over three years, longer than me even. We should have confidence. We're no worse than those senior designers. This is a rare challenge. As long as we give it our all, we have a chance at success.” The four clenched their fists, nodding vigorously. “Alright, we'll give it our all!” That evening, when Aurelia returned home, she found Laura cooking and quickly joined in.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShe wanted to learn several dishes and a soup before the weekend.
Laura thought she was doing it to please Leopold and was delighted.
“You know what they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. If the young master falls in love with your cooking, he'll never want to leave you.” Aurelia knew Laura had misunderstood, but she didn’t correct her, just gave a small smile.
Under Laura's guidance, she made a pot of beef and carrot stew and fried pork chop.
Just as they were about to eat, the door opened and Leopold's tall figure appeared.
Aurelia touched her forehead, wasn't the big boss supposed to be having a private meeting with someone today? Hadn't he been coming to the house a bit too often lately? He wasn't really keeping tabs on her, was he? Laura laughed and said, “Young master, you're just in time for dinner. You haven't eaten yet have you? Today's meal was made by Ms. Aurelia. She learned to cook especially for you.” 10.29 Aurelia broke out in a cold sweat.
Great, the misunderstanding had deepened.
She quickly waved her hands, “No, Mr. Leopold, | was just learning for fun, it has nothing to do with you.
Please don’t misunderstand” Laura gave her a knowing look, “Look at this girl, getting all shy” Laura thought that Aurelia was too reserved, and she needed more help.
A sharp glint passed through Leopold's eyes.
He reached out and ruffled her hair, “Enough talk, let's eat.” Any explanation would be seen as a cover-up. He could see right through her little tricks.
Aurelia stuck out her tongue and closed her mouth, focusing on her meal.
Leopold tried a piece of the beef and found it to his liking. The fried pork chop was also tasty, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
He usually only ate with temperance, but today he had much more food.
Laura smiled so much her eyes were barely open. She whispered to Aurelia, “The young master really likes your cooking. He ate itall.” *Im glad he likes it Aurelia stuck out her tongue, hoping the big boss wouldn't misunderstand and think she had some sort of expectation! After dinner, Laura brought out a fruit platter.
“Young master, why don’t you stay a while longer and help Ms. Aurelia with prenatal education. It's important for the father to be involved. The baby can sense the parents’ emotions” Aurelia felt like she was in the eye of a storm. Today, she was particularly sensitive to the term “prenatal education.” obligations?” “Weren't you the one who took a call and left around this time yesterday? If I'm not mistaken, it was a woman's voice, wasn't it?” Aurelia probed deliberately.
Leopold's gaze flickered slightly. He rested his arm on the back of the couch and leaned in closer, “Are you trying to keep tabs on me?” His intense pressure made her retreat, “Dare |? | don’t have that kind of authority.” “That's good to know,” Leopold smirked slightly.
Aurelia caught the mockery in his tone and felt a bit miffed. The inequality between people was truly unfair. Not only did he control her life, he even wanted to control her thoughts. She, on the other hand, didn’t even have the right to know what was happening in his life.
“Anyway...it's getting late and | have some work to do, I'll be in my room.” She rose to leave but he held her back, “I don't believe in overworking my employees. Once you're off the clock, no work.” Aurelia was speechless. In this competitive world, if you're not pushing yourself, you're bound to be left behind.
“You're telling me to compete, but you won't let me work. Are you trying to set me up to fail? Everyone went to Evelyn's team, while | only have four people left. And we have to work so hard. How am | supposed to do that without working overtime?” Leopold gripped her chin, his deep, icy eyes shimmering in the light, “You need to understand one thing, the final decision is mine. Your first priority is to satisfy me.” Aurelia gasped. Wasn't this bullying? Satisfying him seemed more difficult than scaling the heavens.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAs she pondered silently, Leopold's large hand rested on her slightly protruding belly.
She instinctively wanted to push him away, but then let her hand drop.
He was touching his children, not her, right? “Anyway...I'll play some music for the babies.” She turned on the Bluetooth speaker and played a Brahms" lullaby. Then she lay down on the couch, it was more comfortable that way.
Whatever he wanted to do, he could do. After all, she was just a surrogate mother.
Laura emerged from her room, “Sir, | clean your room every day. If it's too late, don’t leave. Stay here with. Ms. Aurelia and the baby. Also, after the first trimester, it's safe to have intimacy. It's good for the pregnant woman’s hormone balance.” She finished with a smile and retreated to her room.
Aurelia choked.
What kind of talk was this? Even though she was pregnant, it wasn't natural conception. She was still a virgin. How could she possibly 10.29 have intimacy with the boss? They weren't a real couple! Her heart pounded at the thought, causing her chest to heave.
Being pregnant had caused her breasts to develop further, standing out prominently.
Could Leopold not see it? He swallowed hard, his throat growing hot.
Was she doing this on purpose, using Laura as her mouthpiece? His long fingers traced the flush on her cheeks, the burning heat making her skin feel like it was on fire.
“Do you want to have intimacy?” Aurelia almost choked, hurriedly shaking her head, “How can that be? Though I'm carrying your children, I'm still a virgin. I'm saving myself for my future husband.” Leopold's handsome brows furrowed at this, the thought of her body being touched by another man making his blood boil.
“You're already thinking of remarriage before we're even divorced?” His voice held a deep chill, making her shudder, “Isn't that inevitable? After the divorce, | will find someone | truly love, have a proper relationship. If it's right, we'll get married.” A flash of anger shot through Leopold's eyes.
Was she fantasizing about marrying Arnold? —“You must be naive to think that after being my wife in name, you can become my sister-in-law. Unless Arnold doesn’t want to be part of the Stirling family anymore!”